Railway cross-tie.



PATENTED SEPT. 19, 190-5.

D. H. BROMM.

RAILWAY GROSS TIE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYB, 1905.

Inventor Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1905.

Application filed May 8, 1905. Serial No- 259,456.

To all whom, it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, DAVID H. BROMM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sandusky, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Railway Cross-Tie, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal railway cross-' ties, and has for its object to improve the construction and increase the strength and efficiency of devices of this character.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters, is illustrated the preferred form of embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in the shape,proportions,and general assemblage of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Inithe drawings thus employed, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one end of a tie of the improved construction with the rail-supporting attachments thereon. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the tie and rail-holding attachments with the rail in transverse section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of the rail-clamping devices. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the improved tie. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2 with the rail removed. Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective View of one of the rail-plates detached. Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view, inverted, of one of the rail clamp-plates.

The body portion 10 of the tie is in semitubular form in transverse section and with inwardly-extending longitudinal ribs 11 12 at the inwardly-projecting ribs 11 12 serve an.

important function in this connection, as they support the concrete core and prevent the tie shown in Fig. 4, and the tie-plates 14 are likewise provided with corresponding apertures 19 20, as in Fig. 7, for registration, respectively, with the apertures 17 18 when the tieplates are in position upon the ties.

Clamp-plates 23 24 are disposed upon the tie-plates 14, and provided, respectively, with longitudinal slots 21 22 and inclined upper surfaces, the slots for registration with the apertures in the tie-plates and ties. One of the plates'is shown in inverted perspective in Fig. 8; but as all the clamp-plates are duplicates and all the tie-plates are duplicates one of each only is shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8. Clamp-bolts 27 28 are passed, respectively, by their heads 29 30 through .the enlarged portion of the alined apertures 17 19 and 18 20 and moved laterally to cause the bodies of the bolts to pass into the contracted portions of the apertures and to cause the heads to bear against the inner faces of the depressed portions 13, as shown in Fig. 5, and the clampplates 23 24 placed over the .bolts and with their inner ends bearing over the base-flanges of the rails (represented at 31) from opposite sides and the nuts 32 33 applied, wedge-shaped washers 25 26 being applied beneath the nuts to cause them to draw squarely upon the inclined upper surfaces of the clamp-plates.

The apertures in the tie member 10 and the tie-plates 14 are disposed at diagonally-opposite corners of the depressions 13 and also of the plates 14, so that the clamp-plates 23 24 are disposed at correspondingly diagonally opposite positions, as shown, to distribute the strains and increase the efliciency of the device.

The whole device is simple in construction,

easily applied, and is very strong and durable, and the tie being filled with concrete or similar compound or material and being in semicylindrical form is very stable in position and is firmly retained in place by the pressure and weight of the ballast tamped around the same, as will be obvious.

The slots 21 22 in the plates 14 provide a ready means for firmly locking the parts together and at the same time adjusting the clamp-plates to rails of different widths.

The tie member 10, together with its ribs 11 12 and depressed portions 18, are pressed from one single plate of metal, preferably steel, and are thus very strong and durable and can be manufactured at a comparatively Small expense.

The inclined upper surfaces of the clampplates 23 2 L cooperating with the wedgeshaped washers is an important feature of the invention, as the pressure imparted by the nut has a tendency to bind the clamp-plates firmly against the rails and prevent any looseness between the parts, as will be obvious.

The plates 14: may be of wood or other suitable non-electrie conductive material, if required, when the ties are employed in electric railway or signaling construction.

' Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. A metal railway-tie formed from a single piece semicylindrical in transverse section and with depressions in the upper side near the ends, the depressions having shoulders at the ends disposed at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the tie, tie-plates supported upon the tie within said depressed portions and bearing by the ends against said shoulders and clamping means for securing the tieplates to the tie and the rails to the tie-plate.

2. A metal railway-tie formed from a single piece semicylindrical in transverse section and with depressions in the upper side near the ends, the depressions having shoulders at the ends disposed at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the tie, tie-plates supported upon the tie within said depressed portions and bearing by the ends against said shoulders, and with depending flanges at the sides for hearing over the sides of the tie, and clamping means for securing the tie-plates to the tie and the rails to the tie-plates.

3. A metal railway-tie formed from a single piece semicylindrical in transverse section and with depressions in the upper side near the ends, the depressions having shoulders at the ends disposed at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the tie, tie-plates supported upon the tie within said depressed portions and bearing by the ends against said shoulders, clamp-plates for bearing over the tieflanges of the rail and formed with longitudinal slots and with their upper faces inclined outwardly and downwardly, washers having inclined lower faces and bearing upon said clamp plates, and clamp bolts operating, through said tie, tie-plate, clamp-plate and washer.

4:. As a new article, a railway-tie formed 6 5 from a single piece of metal semitubular in transverse section and with inwardly extending ribs longitudinally of its lower edges and with spaced depressions in its upper side to support the rail-holding means, said depressed portions having spaced bolt-apertures enlarged at one end, rail-plates bearing upon said depressed portions and having apertures corresponding to and registering with the apertures in said depressed portions, clampplates bearing upon said rail-plates for extending over the base-flanges of the rails, clamp-bolts having enlarged heads for passing through the enlarged portions of said apertures and bearing beneath the tie structure when moved laterally into the smaller portions of said apertures, and having nuts for bearing upon said clamp-plates.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in 8 5 the presence of two witnesses.

DAVID H. BROMM. Witnesses: JOHN CASEY, GEORGE C. Burs. 

